Love's Simple Melodies
by midnite lies
Summary: Ophelia Cristo's parents were executed after living in the United States for 16 years. She and her brother are sent to live with their godmother in England.


_I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh__  
__I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away__  
__I keep your photograph, I know it serves me well__  
__I wanna hold you high and steal your pain___

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open__  
__And I don't feel like I am strong enough__  
__'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome__  
__And I don't feel right when you're gone away___

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again__  
__I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away__  
__There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight__  
__I wanna hold you high and steal your pain___

_[x2]__  
__'Cause I'm broken when I'm open__  
__And I don't feel like I am strong enough__  
__'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome__  
__And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

Ophelia's eyes slid open slowly as the calming music she had playing was interrupted by a strange voice and a beeping sound. She tried to focus on what the voice was telling her but all she could think about was the odd feeling in her stomach as the ground and her body plummeted 20 feet through the air. Her eyes snapped open as the drop came to a sudden halt but the ground continued to shake under her. She glanced about her panic-stricken until she saw her brother sleeping comfortably in the seat next to her. Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief as she remembered where she was.

That was before she realized that there was nothing between her and a plummet to her death save for the unstable ground. She grabbed onto the armrests of her seat, her knuckles turning white and her face paled considerably.

"It's a less scary if you go back to sleep," she heard Laertes say calmly. His eyes were on her and a small smile played across his lips as he continued to whisper advice, "If you sleep you won't notice the turbulence as much."

"I hate planes..." Ophelia mumbled helplessly. She trailed off as the plane shuddered again but thankfully it did not fall this time.

Laertes draped his arm over his little sister and with his free hand reached into his bag and pulled out a stuffed bear. He gently placed it into Ophelia's lap and chuckled when he saw her reaction.

"Maddy! How did you get her Lae? We weren't supposed to grab anything except a few clothes!" Ophelia clutched the bear and grinned up at her brother. He was older than her by a matter of mere minutes but he was always so much more thoughtful and wiser than her.

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some memory of home to bring to England with us." Laertes leaned in closer and whispered into his twin's ear, "And the idiots didn't even realize I took it."

Ophelia smiled and cuddled against her brother. It was a cruel world but with her brother she felt safe. Ever since their parents had been executed by the Grand Council of Magical America Laertes had taken the role of guardian and provider. He did it well, but she knew that it must have been a relief to him when the Council sent word that they were to be removed to England where their godmother would provide for them. With that news the threat of eviction no longer scared Laertes, but he was still worried about Ophelia.

Her health had always been fragile but the death of her parents had taken a toll on her. Try as he might, Laertes was unable to ease her coughing as she coughed out blood nor quell the fevers that occasionally sent her to hospitals for days at a time. Those things had always been done by her mother, while Laertes was always taken away by their father to cheer him up a little.

However, her parents also served another purpose. Ophelia belonged somewhere when she was with her family. She wasn't just some freak who could make a piece of chalk move across the board without touching it. She wasn't someone who was shoved aside as being worthless or a curse. To her parents, she was a lucky charm. The only one they could tell about the old days without worrying about a negative reaction and about how much they despised muggles. Unfortunately this loathing rubbed off on her, but she always made her parents feel better. No one else, not even her twin brother trusted her like they did, and she doubted anyone ever would again.

She clutched Maddy to her, remembering that Christmas many years ago when Maddy had first been bestowed upon her by her father and brother. She laughed lightly as she remembered Laertes bragging about how he had chosen it for her; always so thoughtful. And he knew her so well. He did so much for her but she had the feeling that he was thoroughly under-appreciated. She would get him something to make it up to him when she had money again. For right now she would be extremely nice to him.

"OPHELIA!! OPHELIA! WHERE ARE YOU?!" It has taken Laertes a moment to realize that his sister was no longer standing next to him and a moment longer for him to start panicking. A couple minutes later he saw a gleam blonde hair in the distance and headed towards it only to discover that it was certainly not his sister.

"Hello, you must be Laertes..." The blonde said just as he was turning away. Laertes looked back at him bewildered, "I am Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange's sister. Your godmother." She added when she saw that he still appeared to be confused.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you," Laertes said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, but I have to find my sister. She..."

"She's right here, with our bags!" Ophelia said brightly from beside Laertes. She was dragging the one extremely light suitcase that they were allowed to bring with them behind her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs...?"

"Malfoy."

"Mrs. Malfoy..." Ophelia finished, filling in the name.

"You will be coming to stay with me and my family. My sister will be there too of course, but I have the feeling that I will be the one to watch over you; my sister has never been the motherly type." Narcissa Malfoy turned and walked off without another word and her two charges followed her.

Laertes took hold of Ophelia's hand as he pushed through the crowd gently pulling her along with him. Finally they came to a halt outside of the airport and Laertes turned to face his sister. "Where the hell did you go? You just wandered off! I was worried about you."

Ophelia's smile fell and she hung her head. "I just went to get the bag. I didn't us to wait there so long, so I went to the beginning and grabbed it as soon as it came out." She heaved a sigh and looked into his eyes. "Sorry Lae."

He huffed and turned away from her again without responding.

Laertes' mood did not lift until they were in front of the handsome manor. Ophelia gazed up at it in awe but it did not fill her with the same sense of relief that it did to Laertes. Instead she felt as if it was missing something. And she knew exactly what it was missing. Her parents...they would have been so happy to be standing exactly where they were and yet they never would do so again. She clutched the locket that hung from her neck. "I guess we made it, huh? Wish you guys were with us," she thought hoping that they would hear her from where-ever they were, "It won't be as rewarding without you. But hopefully now there's not so much pain."


End file.
